captions paid for by nbc-universal television on our broadcast tonight a mass shooting in wisconsin. a gunman opened fire in a religious temple. at least seven people are dead, more critical. wild weather, raging wildfires claim dozens more homes in oklahoma. we are there tonight, as well. we are also keeping an eye on a pair of tropical storms. seven minutes of terror, that is how nasa is describing their high stakes mission to mars. it is happening tonight and they have one chance to stick the landing. and here at the olympic games what a day for the home team. a gold rush the likes to which

they haven't seen in over 100 years. also who is the fastest man in the world? we have the answer. "nbc nightly news" from london begins now. this is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams reporting tonight from the olympic summer games in london. well, good evening from london. tonight we begin right back in the united states with the news that arrived this afternoon that there had been another terrible outburst of violence, a shooting, a bad one inside a sikh temple in suburban milwaukee. there was a lot of confusion initially as police responded and the first victims there were air lifted out. tonight the details hav become a bit clearer and this initially is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism. nbc's john yang is at the scene and starts us off in oak creek,

wisconsin. good evening. >> reporter: the description of domestic terrorism comes from local authorities. the fbi is now on the scene, as well. law enforcement officials are telling nbc news details about this alleged gunman. they say he is a man in his 30s. he was wearing tactical gear, armed with a single handgun. right now officials are searching what they believe to be his home looking for clues about his motive. the 911 calls began at 10:25 a.m. unfire at the sikh templeal in wisconsin. worshippers said one service ended and another about to begin. families were gathering. >> our officer was ambushed, shot multiple times. he is currently at the hospital undergoing surgery. we expect him to recover. >> reporter: the officer was rushed to a milwaukee hospital.

>> another officer on scene was engaged by the suspect. our officer did engage that individual and that digis deceased. >> reporter: authorities said they found four people dead inside the temple and two more inside. for hours police combed through it bringing out survivors. for family members outside it was an agonizing wait. >> my mom was one of the ladies hiding. she called us around 11:00 and told us she called us quick and whispered. she said don't come. there is a shooting here. >> reporter: some of the children attending services were as young as four years old. >> my kids are frightened. we were just like ten minutes or 15 minutes late otherwise my kids would be in there, too. >> reporter: others in the local community of sikhs rushed to the scene looking for answers. >> biggest question we have is

if it is a hate crime. what did we do wrong? we have had since 9/11 small attacks on the community. >> reporter: there have been incidents where sikhs have been mistakenly targeted by antimuslim groups. >> this is a tragedy. >> reporter: tonight for the second time in a little more than two weeks both president obama and presidential candidate mitt romney are issuing statements expressing their condolences to the families of the victims of another mass shooting. >> john yang starting us off from suburban milwaukee tonight. and the man who will be forever associated with one of the worst shootings in america and the near fatal wounding of a member of congress is apparently close to accepting a plea agreement that would keep him in prison for life. our nbc news justice

correspondent pete williams is reporting that doctors treating jared loughner are prepared to say in court that he is competent to enter a plea. in oklahoma tonight what is being described as a monster wildfire continues to burn in the northeastern part of the state, one of several that firefighters are still trying to contain. dozens of homes and other structures have been destroyed throughout the state this weekend. nbc reports from manford, oklahoma tonight with the very latest. >> reporter: on the fire lines today cooler weather in oklahoma provided some help but not enough. at least six wildfires are still burning throughout the state. >> we have guys here going on two hours sleep coming up on 24 hours on the fire line. >> reporter: by mid afternoon the winds kicked up fuelling hot

spots and leaving firefighters with a tough task ahead. the raging fire has burned nearly 60,000 acres. many are still unable to return to their homes. about 40 miles away where yesterday a fast moving fire tore through several homes, evacuation orders have been lifted. >> it is heartbreaking. my husband and i when we turned the corner saw it up in flames. >> reporter: they are stunned after losing their home which has been in the family for nearly a century. >> i was a year old when my parents built it. >> i didn't know what to think. it hurt me real bad because everything was gone. >> the lord doesn't put anything on you than you can bear. that has to be the only way to look at it. >> reporter: as the neighbors and relatives return to what was once a place of solace and safety they look to each other for comfort and support. >> they have helped us through

difficult times and we are going to help them through this time. >> reporter: here state officials say more than 50 homes are destroyed and there is no rain in the forecast until wednesday. >> thanks. and turning to news overseas we continue on the reporting of the civil war in syria. there are concerns that al qaeda may be trying to infiltrate rebel groups battling the syrian government. our correspondent tels us he has found evidence of the same thing. >> reporter: rebels head out on a scouter mission for an attack on a syrian military check point. they move to a hill top hidden among olive trees they can see syrian troops on a road below and discuss how best to ambush them with bombs and machine

guns. >> from here they can see the syrian military positions they plan to attack and there appear to be five or six armored vehicles. >> reporter: but the brigade commander tells us the mission must be called off. they are deeply frustrated. it's the second attack they have had to cancel for lack of weapons in two weeks. the men don't have enough weapons to fight and they are dying. we have been with the unit on two trips for nearly a month. his fighters are secular, welcoming to foreigners, not religious extremist so we were shocked by what he told us. al qaeda offered his unit money and weapons and he is willing to take it. >> translator: we will accept arms and money from anyone, even al qaeda. >> reporter: his brother and top lieutenant who has no interest in al qaeda was more insistent they take al qaeda's offer.

>> translator: i will go to them and raise their flag and say give me support. >> reporter: they say they would rather have support from the united states, the u.n. or europe but it hasn't come. without support al qaeda could make end roads in syria aamong rebels so desperate from help they will take it from anywhere. >> there was a syrian athlete in the competition tonight as athletics got underway at the summer olympic games. back here at these games the big news has to do with the crowning of the title fastest man in the world. that is what you get to call yourself when you win the men 100 meter. and our look away spoiler alert begins now. here is your winner of the men's 100 meter race. with that, safe to look back as we talk about something else. something has happened here that last happened at the winter

games in vancouver. the home team is winning not only that, great britain is positively on fire. third in overall medals behind the u.s. and china. yesterday in the space of one hour here in london they won six gold medals. and yjust today when andy murra beat federer in wimbledon chris jansing has been covering it all. >> the excitement level here in london is absolutely off the charts. this is a team in atlanta in 1996 won one gold. they used the lottery and funded athlete training programs. tonight team gb has 16 golds, half of them this weekend including one from the new national hero.

>> reporter: there has never been a moment quite like this for britain. andy murray didn't just avenge his crushing loss, he finally had his moment. >> for me it is the biggest win of my life, that's for sure. >> reporter: an emotional olympic high for the entire country. >> history in the making. >> reporter: huge crowds blanketed the lawn of olympic park to watch the match on tv. >> i lost my voice i have been screaming so much. >> reporter: the victory followed the most successful day in british olympic history since 1908. team gp started yesterday with eight golds. a pair of rowers shocked with number ten. cyclists broke the world record for 11. number 12 went to the poster girl for the plbritish olympics

jessica ennis. >> i can't tell you how amazing it feels to come out tough. >> reporter: 13 the unexpected jump for gold. and tapping off the glorious gold rush the 10,000 meter. the entire stadium was on its feet. the cheers deafening. off the air even bbc analysts made no pretense of objectivity. the morning newspapers headlines superilative. >> divided by population. >> reporter: the mood is so euphoric that even after the woman marathoner pulled out with an injury rain soaked crowds lined the street six deep to cheer. for a country in lead of a lift this could be a transformational

moment. >> the roar of the crowd as we got one gold after another, that meant more than anything else. we seem to be a country that is changing. >> reporter: unlikely national eerie anhero handy murray lifte hometown and his country to a place of hope and glory and a promise of more to come. >> andy murray also played mixed doubles and had a silver medal. tonight around britain they are calling these the golden games. >> we were told it is uncanadian and unbritish but everyone is learning to make noise around here. >> thanks. a lot nor still ahead on a sunday night from london. there is high drama coming late tonight and on the surface of

mars in fact. tonight zero hour is approaching at nasa. and something we noticed about kate middleton at these olympic games today. [ female announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. it has more of 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. to get your feet moving to the beat. it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's

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in a couple of hours while millions of americans are fast asleep something will take place that is just as daring in its own way as our original moon landing. overnight tonight nasa is going to try to pull off the equivalent of dropping a car on to the surface of mars. we should know before too long if it all worked. our report tonight from nbc's tom costelo.

>> reporter: nasa's newest rover is about to land on the surface. it all begins with a maneuver that looks like something out of a science fiction movie. >> is it risky? landing on mars is always risky. >> reporter: it will raise the temperature on the heat shield to 1,600 degrees. >> it is seven minutes of terror because we have literally seven minutes to get from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of mars going from 13,000 miles per hour to 0. >> reporter: the mission made more exciting by dramatic animation and story telling on nasa's website. unlike previous missions that depended on balloons to cushion the landing this time a giant space crane will take over desnding through the atmosphere and then gently lowering them on to the surface. if curiosity and the science land come down too hard the

mission could be a $2.5 million bust. >> it is the hardest nasa robotic mission ever attempted in the history of exploration of mars. >> reporter: the landing zone is in a crater about the size of a los angeles basin. nasa picked it because it is one of the lowest places on mars where water may have accumulated. nasa has found more water on mars than ever thought possible. so was life ever on mars. >> we may find one thing here and one there. >> reporter: they are looking for the building blocks of life, water, energy and carbon. curiosity will spend two years looking for the evidence but it must first survive a landing that would be a rough ride for even the most seasoned astronauts. >> and we are back in a moment with a check on not one but two tropical storms here on earth. t. his morning starts with arthritis pain.

and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rudy. who switched to aleve. and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels.

♪ you can't wish your way onto the podium. ♪ you can't buy it or hope for it. ♪ it's not enough to dream about it. ♪ luck didn't get me to london. i swam here. ♪

we got a lot of weather in the news this sunday night. we have a dangerous line of storms rumbling across the eastern u.s. and a pair of tropical storms to tell you about. kelly cass is standing by at weather channel head quarters with all of us. >> millions of people being impacted by the threat of severe winds better than 60 miles per hour. have flashlights weather. we could lose power. we have thunderstorm watches in effect from boston to philadelphia and washington, d.c. we had reports of lightning hitting a couple of people at a nascar race. that race had to be shortened. severe thunderstorm warnings continue for places like philadelphia, major delays at the airport. ernesto 50 miles per hour winds expected to brush by jamaica and a tropical storm warning in effect there. florence off the coast of africa, not too worried about that one. >> a lot going on, kelly cass,

from weather channel. at olympic games and the upcoming political conventions really any official event the around the neck credential is the coin of the realm. there is no going anywhere without this. at the olympics they are inspected and scanned everywhere you go. it was interesting today to learn that even dutchesses have them. kate middleton has been to a ton of events here. today we got our first good look at her credential. while she takes a better than average photo everyone is told not to smile for your photo. hers reads simply her royal highness, duchess of cambridge. it is an all access credential. those are hard to get. a champion living her dreams in london. the sacrifices she has made to compete. ♪

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finally here tonight we have heard a lot about the stars of these games, some of the big ones sign endorsement deals the moment they step off the medals stand but for every michael phelps or missy franklin there are hundreds of young men and women who will never see that fame or fortune but they are here at the olympic games because it is what they do.

>> reporter: silver heels leads sarah to london. on this photo shoot to pitch potential sponsors america's strongest woman hopes to change the image of women weight lifting. >> a lot of people think it changes who you are. we are still women. we have that side of us. >> reporter: you are so comfortable with your body image. has it always been that way? >> no it hasn't. i was bullied as a kid. i was taller and bigger than everybody else. i stood out a lot so i got teased. >> reporter: success in sports gave her confidence and determination. the 24-year-old is admired lifting a combined total of 567 pounds to earn an olympic berth. she has the glory, not the riches. she is a three-time national

champion but weight lifting doesn't bring in big time endorsements. >> i was putting $2 at a time to get to the gym. >> reporter: when she can shop it is the thrift store in mesa, arizona where she trains. the only income a stipend from usa weight lifting. you are living on $400 a month? >> i was for about six months. >> reporter: she trained six days a week, two sessions a day and can't find a job to help pay her bills or her coach. >> between fundraisers and me personally giving her money and food and allowance money she has been able to scrounge and get going. >> it was really stressful because i have to be able to eat. i have to do these things so i can recover and be healthy. you are eating the box stuff and the can stuff from the food bank. >> reporter: there has never been much money.

sarah's mom remembers living in a car with her husband while she was pregnant. did you think she would be an olympian? >> it still hasn't sunk in now. >> reporter: sarah had to grow up fast. instead of bitterness she has developed the attitude of a champion. >> she has never given up. and it's just what she does. >> i would rather be an olympian and be poor than sit behind a desk and not do anything. ihi reporter: a woman are the ability to balance a lot on her shoulder. that's our broadcast on a sunday night. don't forget primetime olympic coverage coming straight ahead tonight 7:00/6:00 central. i'm brian williams from london. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com